The Student Room Group

Student finances, how will I do it?!

Hi guys, as we all know university is an expensive investment -but the loans don't actually help everyone! For those who are means tested they will get the full amount of the loans no problem, for the wealthy families they can pay for their child to go university no problem - but what about the people in the middle? Those on middle-income are hit hardest with the student loans setup, they don't get any grants and get a loan which is around £3,000 short of the maximum loan. Being middle-income means my parents won't be able to afford to give me £3,000 a year, and as the loan figure is based on parental income- I disagree! When I am 18 I am an adult! I am independent! Why are they looking at parental income!? If I don't live with my parents or if I have a bad relationship with them and have no hope of receiving money (if miraculously they could afford it) then why would they still assess the amount I can get from a loan by looking at parental income when that is irrelevant!

Now my question to you is, how do undergraduates pay for everything when all you have is a £5,000 maintenance loan if your lucky!? The average cost of living is in excess of £10,000 so how do you earn £5,000 a year WHILE studying?

Also if anyone lives in London please tell me how you do it. £300 p/w rent multiplied by 40 weeks is £12,000! And that is only for rent! What about food and other essentials!

Sorry I may have ranted but any help is appreciated. Any more questions are welcomed.
Reply 1
£300 a week?!?!? Where exactly are you staying that's so expensive?
Reply 2
Original post by Jehaan
£300 a week?!?!? Where exactly are you staying that's so expensive?




Posted from TSR Mobile

In London! So thats £36,000 for three years of living.
Reply 3
Original post by Samoyed
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In London! So thats £36,000 for three years of living.

But some of my friends going to imperial (so South Kensington) and they're accommodation is more around the £200 mark for the nicer ones. Why not try finding a slightly cheaper rent by compromising on certain aspects?
Reply 4
Original post by Jehaan
But some of my friends going to imperial (so South Kensington) and they're accommodation is more around the £200 mark for the nicer ones. Why not try finding a slightly cheaper rent by compromising on certain aspects?




Posted from TSR Mobile

That's good for London! It's really hard to get cheap accommodation! :frown:
Reply 5
Posted from TSR Mobile

And £200 p/w is still £8,000, how do they pay for other essentials? E.g food, clothes, electric.
Reply 6
£300! Makes me glad UCL rejected me O_O
Reply 7
Original post by Assan
£300! Makes me glad UCL rejected me O_O




Posted from TSR Mobile

If you got into UCL I don't see how anyone can balance studying with earning money to survive :smile: there's cheaper and happier places to go :smile:
Reply 8
Original post by Samoyed
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If you got into UCL I don't see how anyone can balance studying with earning money to survive :smile: there's cheaper and happier places to go :smile:


Definitely. The prestige factor would have made it hard to reject, but thankfully the decision was made for me.
Reply 9
I'm not happy about 135 per week...300 in London is just terrifying
Reply 10
Original post by Assan
Definitely. The prestige factor would have made it hard to reject, but thankfully the decision was made for me.




Posted from TSR Mobile

True true, are you looking at Russell Groups outside of London then? That might be the best thing to do.
£300 is NOT realistic. I live in central london in a good area (angel), in a 2 bed flat and it is £190 per week per room. I have friends who live a bit further out (zone 2/3) and their rent is between £120-160 per week.

This is still expensive though. Plenty of people cant afford to live in London, it's just the way it is. I can only afford it to due to loans and savings from working for the past 6 years part-time. If you only get a small loan this means your parents earn enough to be able to help out. I admit it's unfair on those students whose parents refuse to help, but this is a tiny minority.
Original post by Samoyed
Posted from TSR Mobile

In London! So thats £36,000 for three years of living.


Really? I am going to uni in London and it's around 115-200 pounds a week depending on the room size and facilities.
The average cost is about £135
Reply 13
Original post by Samoyed
Posted from TSR Mobile

True true, are you looking at Russell Groups outside of London then? That might be the best thing to do.


Yeah. So far offers from Exeter, York and Birmingham, UCL rejection, and waiting on Warwick. Would love an offer from Warwick, but the first three degrees are Senior Status LLB (two years) as opposed to Warwick's 3. Love Warwick, but a third year would be an expensive indulgence....

So, will see if they make the choice for me :smile:
They afford it by working over the summer and saving and hopefully also getting a part time job during the year. Also £300 a week no matter what part of London is ridiculous, I can only assume that's an ensuite and luxury accommodation. You can get much cheaper but you have to make sacrifices of comfort. It'll be even cheaper to go into shared housing as opposed to accommodation as well.
Reply 15
Original post by LiquidGold
£300 is NOT realistic. I live in central london in a good area (angel), in a 2 bed flat and it is £190 per week per room. I have friends who live a bit further out (zone 2/3) and their rent is between £120-160 per week.

This is still expensive though. Plenty of people cant afford to live in London, it's just the way it is. I can only afford it to due to loans and savings from working for the past 6 years part-time. If you only get a small loan this means your parents earn enough to be able to help out. I admit it's unfair on those students whose parents refuse to help, but this is a tiny minority.




Posted from TSR Mobile

Thank you for your information :smile: I need to do more research haha
Reply 16
Original post by Assan
Yeah. So far offers from Exeter, York and Birmingham, UCL rejection, and waiting on Warwick. Would love an offer from Warwick, but the first three degrees are Senior Status LLB (two years) as opposed to Warwick's 3. Love Warwick, but a third year would be an expensive indulgence....

So, will see if they make the choice for me :smile:




Posted from TSR Mobile

Wow thats impressive! Good luck on them!
Reply 17
Original post by SophieSmall
They afford it by working over the summer and saving and hopefully also getting a part time job during the year. Also £300 a week no matter what part of London is ridiculous, I can only assume that's an ensuite and luxury accommodation. You can get much cheaper but you have to make sacrifices of comfort. It'll be even cheaper to go into shared housing as opposed to accommodation as well.




Posted from TSR Mobile

Thanks for the information :smile: surely theres not many jobs that will pay enough to cover accommodation? Are most students on minimum wage?
£300 is far too much, no-one I know in London spends that much on rent, ofc if you pick luxury then you won't be able to afford it.
Also students who are genuinely estranged for X time can apply as independent.

I do agree middle-incomers with un-supportive parents are hit hardest, but then you have the option of NOT picking the most expensive city, choosing cheaper options, and saving up before uni. A part time job is also possible. Student overdrafts are helpful.
Original post by Samoyed
Posted from TSR Mobile

Thanks for the information :smile: surely theres not many jobs that will pay enough to cover accommodation? Are most students on minimum wage?


Even just working 15 hours a week will get you an extra £100 on minimum wage. That's just the weekend. Or you could split it up to a few hours s day. It is completely doable. Most of my friends work a lot more than that and manage fine

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